Cranberry Point (Cedar Cove #4)(62)

After exchanging photographs, Grace looked at him. "And you?" she asked. "How are you, Cliff?"

"Busy." He didn't respond seriously the way she had; his reply was flippant.

She dropped her eyes in an effort to recover. In one word, he'd let her know she wasn't allowed access to his world anymore. Despite his earlier sincerity, that brief glimpse of caring and concern, this dinner wasn't going to change anything. Olivia and her daughters might as well have saved their money.

Grace's spirits plummeted.

The waitress returned with their wine, uncorked it and poured a sample for Cliff to approve. After the tasting ritual and the pouring, she took their dinner order.

"I'm off to Texas to buy a horse next week," Cliff said as if it was now his turn to fill the ensuing silence. "I hope so, anyway. I've had my eye on a particular quarter horse stud for quite some time." He continued talking about the qualities that made this horse important to him. Most of what he said was beyond Grace's slim knowledge of breeding and horses, but she listened attentively.

"Well, I hope your trip is successful," she said when he'd finished.

Silence again. Their whole evening seemed destined to crawl from one awkward silence to another.

"I feel I can leave the ranch now that I have Cal," he added.

"How is Cal?" she asked. Their conversations never used to be stilted like this. They always had a million things to say to each other, sharing pieces of their lives. Except for what she hadn't shared—her Internet romance with Will Jefferson. Would she never be forgiven for that?

Cliff started to chuckle, and she glanced up.

"What?" Grace smiled, too, although she didn't know why.

"The Dog and Bachelor Auction," he said. "Do you remember that Corrie McAfee bid on him for her daughter?"

"Oh—yes." She'd found it difficult to keep track of which bachelor had gone to whom, although she'd received personal satisfaction from Stan Lockhart's fate. She noticed he hadn't been around town as much lately and in Grace's opinion, that was a good thing.

"Did you read in the paper that thanks to Charlotte and Ben, the town's worked out a deal with Puget Sound Medical and Dental to set up a clinic?"

"Speaking of Ben..." Grace closed her mouth.

"What about him?"

She shook her head, angry with herself. "Nothing... It's just that Olivia is worried about her mother and Ben."

"Why?"

"Well, no one ever heard of him until recently."

"No one had ever heard of me, either," Cliff reminded her.

"But you aren't dating a judge's mother. In her line of work, Olivia has reason to be suspicious—but I'm sure nothing will turn up."

Cliff picked up his water glass. "Nothing will turn up where?"

In her uneasiness, Grace had already said more than she'd intended. "Forget I said that." She hoped he'd simply put this conversation out of his mind.

No such luck. "Olivia's having a background check done on Ben?" he asked bluntly.

Grace felt dreadful, but she couldn't lie to Cliff again. "Yes. Please don't say anything."

"You think I'd tell Charlotte this?"

That made her feel even worse, since Charlotte and Cliff were friends. "No...Cliff, please, I should never have said anything."

He hesitated, then agreed with a shrug. "All right."

"I heard Linnette McAfee's been hired to work at the clinic." It was an obvious change of topic, but he accepted it readily enough and she sighed with relief.

"That's what I understand."

"Since Linnette's moving to town, maybe she'll have a chance to get to know Cal." She gestured vaguely. "More than she could on just a dinner date."

"Cal's a good man," Cliff said casually. "I think getting out more will do him a world of good."

"I like him," Grace said although her contact with Cliff's trainer had been limited to a few short conversations. His shyness and stuttering made communication difficult. Instinctively, she wanted to finish his sentences, to spare him the embarrassment of stammering. But on honest reflection, she supposed her impulse to help had as much to do with her own discomfort as with any perceptions of his.

"He likes you, too."

Instantly Grace's heart lightened.

The waitress approached the table with their first course, shrimp bisque for Grace and Caesar salad for Cliff.

"How are Maryellen and Jon?" he asked as he set down his wineglass.

"Happy and deeply in love." In that instant, Grace wished she could withdraw the words. Talking about love was painful; under different circumstances, those words could have referred to them. "They hope to have another child," she said after a pause.

"What about Kelly and Paul?"

Grace sighed. "Kelly still isn't pregnant and she's starting to get worried."

"I'm sure there's no cause for concern."

Grace agreed, and they lapsed into silence again.

The waitress returned to collect their first-course dishes and bring their entrees. She also refilled their wine. Grace took her first taste of sole topped with a creamy shrimp sauce, and Cliff cut into his prime rib. They both made enthusiastic noises about the excellence of the food.